US Patent Issued to Canon on Aug. 5 for "Vibration-type actuator, and optical apparatus and electronic apparatus including the same" (Japanese Inventor)

ALEXANDRIA, Va., Aug. 6 -- United States Patent no. 12,381,493, issued on Aug. 5, was assigned to Canon K.K. (Tokyo).

"Vibration-type actuator, and optical apparatus and electronic apparatus including the same" was invented by Akira Shimada (Saitama, Japan).

According to the abstract* released by the U.S. Patent & Trademark Office: "A vibration-type actuator includes a vibrator, a contact member, a ball, and a base table having a third guide. The vibrator has an elastic member and an energy conversion element. The contact member is fixed to the base table, contacts the elastic member, and extends in a predetermined direction. The vibrator and the contact member are driven along the predetermined direction due to a vibration generated by a...